His Lullaby Baby

by Airicka Phoenix

  “She’s beautiful,” she whispered, looking out in the direction Sandra had disappeared.

  Toby hummed. “Maybe, but she’s not you and I knew I wanted you from the moment you assaulted me.”

  Laughter burst out of her, chasing away the gnawing fury gripping her nerves.

  Toby grinned down at her. “I’m all yours, baby.”

  She accepted that. It wasn’t as though she were a virgin exactly. Plus he was right, he was hers now.

  The realization momentarily stunned her. She hadn’t been sure what to make of them or if she even wanted a relationship, but she did. Past insecurities aside, he made her feel safe. He made her feel wanted and cherished and desired. He made her laugh, which was something she hadn’t done in so long. But above all else, he made her want to stop hiding. It was dangerous and a part of her begged her to stop before it got out of control. But she was reaching for him instead. Her arms were slipping around his neck and she was reaching for his mouth with hers.

  “Guys!” Calla burst in between them, blue eyes wide with panic and annoyance. “What are you doing?”

  “Kissing?” Toby supplied helpfully.

  “You’re both part of the auction!” Calla hissed. “You’re supposed to be single. No one will want to bid on you if you’re sucking each other’s faces.” She growled low in her throat. “Go mingle. Stay away from each other until the evening is over.”

  She forcibly grabbed Addy by the elbow and maneuvered her away from Toby. Addy glanced back once to find Toby watching her go, his look predatory and promising.

  “Stay on this side of the room,” Calla told her sternly, sticking her on the complete opposite side of the room. “Mingle. Talk to people. Make them put in a bid.” She squeezed Addy’s arm lightly and offered her a small smile. “You get to take him home, but for the next few hours, both your asses belong to me and I plan on cashing in big, okay?”

  Laughing, Addy nodded. Her arm was released and Calla hurried away.

  She wasn’t left alone long though.

  “Adelaide!” Mrs. Donnelly wrapped small, cold hands around Addy’s wrist and spun her around, nearly taking the floor out from under her when her ankle twisted. “There you are. Susan and I were just looking for you.”

  Mrs. Clout nodded from her friend’s side. “You never told us you were in the show.”

  Addy shook her head. “It was a very last minute thing.”

  “Well, you look positively radiant!” Mrs. Donnelly exclaimed, pushing Addy back to arm’s length to get a better look. “That dress is stunning.”

  Addy smiled. “Thank you. It’s from Calla’s shop.”

  Mrs. Donnelly gasped dramatically. “Oh, to be young and thin enough to shop at such a place. Alas, I have lost my girlish figure forever.”

  Not sure what to say, Addy opted to say nothing at all.

  Mark took that moment to appear next to her, slightly breathless. “Man, you can move in those heels,” he panted.

  She hadn’t realized he’d been chasing her. “Sorry. I was being forced.”

  Mark waved her apology aside. “Yeah, Calla looked fierce. I thought I’d attempt to rescue you.” He straightened and turned green eyes to the two watching them. “Mrs. Donnelly. Mrs. Clout. Don’t you both look beautiful this evening.”

  Mrs. Clout giggled and flicked a wrist at him. “Oh, stop!” But she flushed happily.

  Both women were wearing black, sequin gowns with yards of silk and chiffon. Matching fascinators sat perched atop their elegantly knotted dos. Fierce red lipstick colored their lips and deep, dramatic blue eyeshadow was swept over their eyes.

  “What have you been up to, Mr. Pierce?” Mrs. Donnelly asked. “Not getting into too much trouble, I hope?”

  Mark shook his head. “No ma’am. Been on my best behavior.” Yet the grin he offered them was anything but.

  Mrs. Donnelly looked unconvinced, but there was amusement shining in her eyes. “Are you here with our Adelaide?”

  Again, Mark gave a shake of his head. “I’m simply keeping her company.”

  “Then you should definitely ask her to dance,” Mrs. Clout insisted with a definite nod. “It would be the polite thing to do.”

  “You know what, you’re absolutely right. Thank you, Mrs. Clout.” He turned to Addy. “Would you like to dance?”

  She didn’t. Truthfully, the shoes were beginning to hurt her feet and she really wanted to sit down or find Toby. But the two were watching, waiting as expectantly as Mark was and she relented.

  “I would love to dance.”

  Mrs. Donnelly and Mrs. Clout both beamed.

  “You go on now,” Mrs. Donnelly said with a pat to Addy’s arm. “Have fun and enjoy yourself. We’ll make sure to put in a good word for you with the others.”

  “Good word…?” But the two women were already pushing their way through the crowd, leaving her alone with Mark. “What did they mean put in a good word for me?”

  Mark took her hand and led her onto the dance floor with all the other swaying bodies. She was pulled into the circle of his arms. An appropriate distance hung between them.

  “Well, it’s an auction,” Mark said at last. “Our job from now until the end of the evening is to talk everyone into donating more and bidding higher for us.”

  Addy wrinkled her nose. “I feel like a prized cow.”

  “I’m afraid to say you are for the evening.”

  “Hey!” Addy laughed.

  “How do you think I feel? Objectified, that’s how. Standing up there, having women throw money at me … it’s mortifying.”

  Addy laughed harder. “Oh, I’m sure it was just awful for you.”

  Mark clicked his tongue. “It really was. Not sure how I’m going to recover from this.”

  Shaking her head, Addy looked over the crowd. She recognized a few faces, not the one she was looking for, but everyone seemed to be having a great time.

  “So how come you’re keeping me company when there are so many beautiful women in the room just dying for your attention?” She turned her focus back to the man moving with her in time to the sultry strum of violin and flutes.

  “Because I’m curious about you.” There was no amusement on his face now, no teasing, just mild interest. “My best friend seems to have fallen hard for you and I want to make sure you’re not going to break his heart.”

  Addy blinked even as she stiffened. “What?”

  He spun her out and caught her back to him in the same fluid motion. His hand settled on her waist once more.

  “I don’t have very many friends,” he said evenly. “But I watch out for the ones I do have. Toby’s a good guy. He’s the kind of guy who takes money out of his own pocket to pay for another kid’s meal card. The kind that would wake up at the crack of dawn to shovel a path at the old retirement home so the transport bus could get the seniors to their appointments. He does everything for everyone else and never asks for anything in return. And he likes you.” His features softened. “I don’t want to see him get hurt.”

  His concern for his friend was touching. Addy couldn’t even fault him for intruding on her and Toby’s personal business. She only wished she’d had a friend like that growing up. Maybe things wouldn’t have turned out the way they did if she had.

  “I really like him, too,” she whispered. “Probably more than is good for me.”

  Mark chuckled. “Yeah, he’s got that effect on people. You can’t help but love him.”

  Love him. Addy hadn’t considered the possibility of falling in love with the guy, but she could see it. She could definitely fall for him and fall hard. He had that pull. He was already so far beneath her skin she could feel him there, moving through her veins and making her want reckless and impossible things.

  “Hey, you okay?”

  Blinking, Addy nodded. She offered him a smile.

  “These shoes are killing me,” she said honestly.

  Mark laughed, but he didn’t make her keep dancing. He led her to the
edges of the dance floor and released her with a little smile.

  “I think it’s time to mingle.” He tugged on the lapel of his blazer. “Show these ladies what a real man’s like.” His green eyes met hers. “Will you be okay?”

  Not sure what to say, Addy could only nod. She watched as he turned on his heels and walked off, leaving her desperate for an empty chair to sit on.

  Finding none, Addy sighed miserably. She took hold of her skirt and made her way gingerly around the outer edges of the dance floor to the doors; there had to be somewhere to sit and take those damn shoes off.

  “Addy!”

  His voice was a welcoming sip of warm coffee on a cold morning. It filled her with an unexpected rush of excitement. She turned quickly and found him darkening the doorway behind her. Eyes the color of cerulean honed in on her with a savage need that made her hate herself. She couldn’t even bring herself to understand how he could do so much with only just the murmur of her name.

  He moved a step closer, putting his weight on his cane as he did so. “Are you leaving?”

  “No…”

  She grimaced and shifted out of sheer discomfort. Her toes were throbbing. Her calves were on fire and she was sure one of the blisters had popped and blood was filling the death traps. She was so done with the whole heels business.

  “What?” He reached out to steady her.

  “I really need to sit down,” she confessed.

  With a hand on her elbow, he led her into one of the abandoned rooms and shut the door behind them. It was an office with a desk and walls lined with books. He guided her to the leather love seat and set her down. He took the spot next to her. Addy wasted no time kicking the shoes off. She moaned as her toes finally unfurled.

  “God, how do women wear those things?” she groaned, messaging the blood back into her purple feet.

  Toby chuckled. “Come here.”

  Before she could ask, he had dragged her feet into his lap. The posture had her splayed lengthwise across the seat with her back against the armrest and her knees bent. The slit on her dress parted dangerous, exposing one entire leg to the hip. The hard cords of his thighs cradled the arches. She could feel the heat of his skin burning through the dark fabric of his trousers. She tried to draw back, but he held on. Then he began to knead and she all but dissolved on the spot. His fingers sent spasms of unadulterated bliss crackling up the length of her legs. Each coax danced along her nerve endings and showered her in a state of mindless ecstasy.

  “Oh God!” Her moan broke off into a low, guttural groan. Her head dropped back against the headrest. Her eyes closed as another wave of pleasure washed over her. “Don’t stop … Toby … Please…”

  He gouged his thumbs into her inner step and her entire body jerked. She tried to catch her whimper between her teeth, but it rolled out in a deep purr.

  “Jesus, Addy, that’s not fair.”

  Eyelids opened a slit and she peered across at him and found him staring back, his eyes opaque. His jaw sat tense in longing.

  “Want me to rub your feet?” she teased.

  His nostrils flared. “Not my feet. No.”

  The air hitched in her lungs as his implication struck home. The fire he’d built just with his fingers ignited into a full blown inferno in the pit of her stomach. The flames leaped beneath her skin, heating her blood and intensifying the fog that had settled over her brain. All inhibitions, doubts, and fears washed away like a receding wave melting back into the ocean. Her mind no longer had any control over the wants and needs of her body, and there were so many and they all circled around the man devouring her with his eyes.

  Her soul was on fire and all it wanted was a sample of what she’d never had before. The place between her thighs panged with an urgency she was quickly becoming all too familiar with. How simple it would be to part her legs and show him her naked flesh, show him just how desperately she wanted him.

  “Toby—”

  The doors opened and the moment was shattered into tiny, fragmented pieces. Addy tossed her legs out of Toby’s lap and hurriedly shot to her feet. Her fingers fumbled over her skirt, straightening and smoothing as his mother of all people walked into the room.

  There wasn’t a hole big enough to conceal the mortification that roared over her.

  “They’re counting the ballots,” she said to her son in a clipped, even tone. “You should maybe go out there, especially seeing as how this is your event.”

  Addy grabbed her shoes and left the room at a near run. She never even glanced at the brunette as she ducked past her.

  Chapter 11 ~ Toby

  Toby watched Addy’s retreating back until she was out of sight before fixing his gaze on his mother.

  “What was that?”

  Beth didn’t pretend to misunderstanding. Her arms folded.

  “Me trying to protect you.”

  Toby blinked. “From Addy?”

  “You’ve been through so much the last year. You don’t need further complications.”

  Grabbing his cane, Toby shoved to his feet. “What are you talking about?”

  Arms dropped to her sides. She reached for the door and closed it.

  “She’s using you. You’ve known her a day and she has you paying to fix her house in an amount that stems into the thousands.”

  “I’m not paying to fix her house!” He shot back. “And any work I did do, I offered.”

  “Women like her make you think it was your idea after they’d planted the idea in your head.”

  “Women like her?” He put his hand up when she opened her mouth. “You don’t know her. If you did, you’d know she is isn’t like that.”

  “I know women like her, Toby. Women who rely on kindhearted men to pay their way. She was pregnant at fifteen, did you know that? And a second child, but no father.”

  “Stop. Just stop. I can’t believe you’re judging her without even saying two words to her.” He shook his head. “I can’t stay here.”

  “Toby…”

  “Don’t.” He stared into his mother’s eyes. “I love you so I’m going to leave this room right now before either of us says something we can’t take back. Whatever Addy has done in the past is her business. But I care about her, Mom. I really care about her.”

  “I know you do, baby. That’s why I worry. I understand we all have mistakes in our past we don’t want to talk about, but hers…”

  “Sean and Hanna aren’t mistakes,” he cut her off sharply. “They are amazing kids. Sean is the smartest ten year old I’ve ever met and Hanna, well, just spend five minutes with her and she’ll completely steal your heart. I don’t care who their father is. I don’t care how they were conceived. If Addy’ll have me, I want them to be part of the package. I don’t regret that.”

  His mom’s face softened. She reached for him and settled a palm against his cheek.

  “I love that about you, Toby. It makes me so proud to have raised such an amazing man, but this situation … You’re not behaving logically. You don’t know two things about the woman.”

  Toby let her words simmer and tried to understand them without the anger he could feel brewing through him.

  “You and Dad raised me to see the good in others, to see past what everyone else saw, so I’m asking you to do the same. Sit down with Addy. Get to know her without judgment. I need you to do this, Mom. I’m serious about her and I need you to get on board with me.”

  She sighed. Her blue eyes shifted away from him and he could almost hear her thinking. Seconds ticked into minutes before she spoke again.

  “You’re right.” Her shoulders lifted with her deep inhale. “I shouldn’t have judged her before I even gave her a chance. I was only trying to protect you.”

  Toby nodded. “I know.”

  She clasped her hands in front of her. “I’ll give her a chance, without judgment,” she added when he started to speak. “And I will do my best in the future not to be such a colossal bitch.”

  Toby chuckled.
“You’re not a bitch. I know why you were worried, but I’m not asking her to marry me. I just want to get to know her without my mom scaring her off.”

  “Fair enough,” she mumbled.

  “Oh, and so we’re clear, I’m not paying for the renovations. Addy wouldn’t let me even if I tried. She won’t even let me change a light bulb without demanding she pay me for it. She’s a good person, Mom. If you don’t believe that, then at least believe you’ve raised a smart enough kid to know better.”

  She glowered up at him without heat. “Will you stop? I already feel bad. No need to rub it in.”

  Toby chuckled. “Good. Now come on before I miss a chance to be won.”

  Chapter 12 ~ Addy

  “There you are!” Mark caught her halfway up the stairs, shoes in hand. “Going somewhere?” She started to tell him she was leaving, but he was talking again. “They’re about to call the winners, so if you leave, the fundraiser doesn’t get that money.”

  Addy cursed. She cursed herself and Willa for making her get up on that stage and the stupid bachelorette for catching the flu. But she climbed back down. She braced a hand on the railing and eased her feet back into the jaws of hell. She teetered. Mark steadied her.

  “All right?”

  No!

  “Yes,” she lied.

  He led her back into the main room. People were still dancing, but she could see where Calla stood by the ballot boxes, head bent as three people counted out the bids and separated them into piles. Toby was nowhere to be seen and neither was his mother. She wondered if they were still in the office. She wondered if Beth was telling Toby what a bad choice he was making. Addy wasn’t sure why that bothered her, but it did. It bothered her even more that Beth hadn’t even given her a chance before labeling her as worthless. Maybe it was a mom thing, she thought miserably. Beth certainly wasn’t the first one to think Addy wasn’t worthy of her son. Even her own parents … She jerked that thought out of her head. It had taken her five years and thousands of hours of therapy and group meetings to get over the first twenty years of her life. Going back was never an option and she didn’t want it to be.